Fort Dufferin is a former Canadian government post near the

Canada–United States border The international border between Canada and the United States is the longest in the world by total length. The boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Canada' ...

at Emerson, Manitoba. The fort was used during the 1870s as a base for the North American Boundary Commission and the

North-West Mounted Police The North-West Mounted Police (NWMP) was a Canadian paramilitary police force, established in 1873, to maintain order in the new Canadian North-West Territories (NWT) following the 1870 transfer of Rupert's Land and North-Western Territory to ...

(NWMP), and as an immigration station. It was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1937.

History

Fort Dufferin was constructed in 1872 on a site along the west bank of the Red River three kilometres north of the present-day border station at Emerson. Named for Governor General Lord Dufferin, it was originally used as a base for the Canadian-British contingent of the North American Boundary Commission, which was tasked with surveying the international border along the

49th parallel north The 49th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 49degree (angle), ° true north, north of Earth's equator. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. The city of Paris is about south of the 49t ...

, as agreed upon by the British and American governments in the Treaty of 1818. After the commission's surveyors moved west along the Boundary Commission Trail, the fort was used by the NWMP as an assembly point prior to their March West in 1874. Members of the force arrived at Fort Dufferin, coming from the east through the United States, marking the only time the entire force was ever assembled at one place. On July 8, 1874, the NWMP moved out and began their journey west to bring law and order to the North-West Territories. The NWMP also used Fort Dufferin as its Manitoba headquarters, before moving it to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

in 1875. From 1875 to 1879, the Canadian government used Fort Dufferin as an immigration station for steamboats entering the country along the Red River, including thousands of Russian Mennonites of the West Reserve, and as a quarantine station for livestock. Following completion of the international rail line on the east side of the river in 1878, steamboat traffic on the river ceased and the immigration station at Fort Dufferin was no longer needed. In 1879, the fort was abandoned and the Canadian government sold the property.

Historical Site

Fort Dufferin was designated a National Historic Site in 1937 and is open to the public during the summer. A cairn and plaque mark the historic site and some of the buildings, though badly deteriorated, still stand. Ongoing preservation efforts are being carried out by several groups, including local residents, the Canadian government, and the

Royal Canadian Mounted Police The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...

Veteran's Association.

References

External links

Parks Canada profile

Fort Dufferin at Manitoba Historical Society

{{NHSC Emerson, Manitoba Dufferin North-West Mounted Police forts National Historic Sites in Manitoba Canada–United States border Buildings and structures in Pembina Valley Region

History

Historical Site

See also

References

External links